


Dream Come True

by Avistella



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Second Person, Prophetic Dreams, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8638201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avistella/pseuds/Avistella
Summary: Zen has a prophetic dream of you dying, and he will do anything to make sure it doesn't happen.  Note: This is a reader-interactive story, meaning you, as the reader, will decide which actions to take and affect the overall flow/end of the story.At the end of each chapter, you will have the option to choose (comment) which action the reader will take; you may also suggest your own actions. The choice that has the most "votes" by the time I start writing the next chapter will be the action the reader decides to take.





	1. Prologue

_This is a dream. It_ has _to be a dream._.

Zen is running, but he has no idea why, and he has no idea where he is. It's too dark to properly make out any shapes of the place to help determine where exactly this is, and the young man bumps into a few objects here and there, but that doesn't deter him from his goal. He's confused as to what his goal actually entails, but there's a twisting knot in his stomach as his feet continue to run in this unfamiliar place. His lungs are burning and everything in his body is aching, but he ignores them all because he _needs_ —

A frustrated growl escapes the actor's lips because he can't remember _what_ he needs. All he knows is that it's important and feels like his life depends on it. Zen turns a corner and halts in his steps once his eyes fall upon the sight that greets him. This hall has a window for once unlike everywhere else that he was running in, and the sunlight that peeks through it acts like a spotlight on stage, focusing on the main lead: you.

Before he even realizes it, Zen is already moving to go by your side, and he wills himself not to collapse as his eyes lay upon your unmoving form. You're lying there in center stage, the pooling blood around you acting like a marker. The usual clothes you wear, the ones that Zen loves—loved—to see you in, have been replaced with a white gown with the occassional red stains seeping through. Your hair has been styled, and for a short second, Zen is amazed at the amount of detail that went into it. Your expression looks peaceful, similar to the ones that you always wore when sleeping safely in his arms, but it's different now. It looks colder. Lonelier. Slowly, Zen pries his eyes away from your face and back onto the rest of your body. He realizes that you've been posed to lie on on your back, your hands folded neatly together above your chest, holding a single black rose.

Despite the fact that Zen knows that what he's looking at is your corpse, he can't help but find you deadly beautiful. But then, reality comes crashing back down again, and he breaks. The actor ignores the blood that seeps through his pants as he kneels down to your side, lifting your cold body and holding you against him. He repeatedly tries to lie to himself, saying that if he holds you like this, you'll be warm again, but he knows better. Zen asks you to open your eyes for him, but you refuse to answer. You can't.

He desperately begs to any and all gods that this was all just a dream. ...And it was, but Zen doesn't realize it until his eyes shoot open only to be greeted by the familiar sight of his ceiling. His lips are parted, a strangled scream stuck in his throat as his chest rises and falls with heaving breaths. His sweat causes strands of his hair and his clothes to stick against his skin, and the actor forces himself to sit up, the weight of his covers suffocating his shivering body. He hears shuffling from beside him, and he turns his head to look at the source of the sound.

Blearily, you rub your eyes as you slowly sit up from the shared bed. "Zen?" your voice comes out sounding slightly raspy from having just woken up. "What's wrong?"

You're answered by a tight embrace instead as Zen buries his face in the crook of your neck. Slowly, you come to realize that he's crying, if the wetness that falls on your skin is any indication. You're confused, and you try to ask Zen once again what's wrong. Zen opens his mouth to speak, but he finds that the words won't come out amidst his sobbing, so you instead choose to comfort him by soothingly rubbing your hands up and down his back. You whisper gentle words to his ear, telling him that whatever it is, you're there for him.

 _You're here_. _You're still here_. The realization of this fact overwhelms Zen as he cries harder and louder. The warmth of your body brings him a small moment of relief, and he calms himself enough to pull away from the crushing embrace. You look at him with questioning eyes, but instead of explaining himself, Zen crashes his lips against yours, desperate for reassurance and confirmation that you're still alive. You gasp as he takes your breath away, and _yes, you're still breathing_. The kiss is deep and rough, and when the young man finally pulls away, the two of you are panting, trying to catch your breaths.

"Sorry," Zen finally croaks out an apology, and you smile at him.

"Don't be. It's okay," you decide against asking him what was wrong, afraid that it'll just make him break down again. You've never seen him so vulnerable before, and you can't help but worry. However, you decide to put your faith in him, trusting that Zen will tell you when he's ready.

"I had a bad dream," Zen answers vaguely as he runs his fingers through your hair. Both his fingers and voice are trembling, and he's grateful that you decide not to comment on it. "It's nothing to worry about. Sorry for waking you. Just go back to sleep, okay?"

Slowly, you nod and lie back down, but when Zen doesn't follow after you, you ask, "What about you?"

"Hm? Oh, I'll go back to sleep later. I'm just gonna go and get myself a glass of water and make one quick phone call first. Go ahead and sleep."

Without waiting for your response, Zen stands up from the bed and starts to head for the kitchen. He can feel your eyes watching him, and he makes an effort not to show just how shaken up he still is from the dream he's had. The young man places a hand on his throbbing head as he bites back the sickening feeling in his stomach that hasn't left him since he came across your corpse in his dream. It felt all too real, and Zen wishes that that was all it was. A dream. But if it really was another one of his prophetic dreams, then he vows to himself that he won't let it happen. He will do and give _anything_ and _everything_ to make sure the dream doesn't come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zen told you to go back to sleep, but you're still worried about him. You...  
>  ~~• Do as he says and go back to sleep~~  
>  • _Quietly follow after him to make sure he's okay_ (chosen response)


	2. Reassurances

Even though Zen told you to go ahead and go back to sleep before him, you couldn't help but worry about him. He looked so broken, and you wanted to reassure him that he had your support with whatever it was that was troubling him. He had supported you so much, and he continued to do so; it was only natural that you would want to return the favour.

Slowly, you get off the bed, shivering slightly without the warmth of the covers. Your eyes glance towards the clock; it was just past 3AM, and you give a small smile, nostalgia filling you as you remember staying up at this time when you first met the RFA members. You had a bad habit of keeping your phone on overnight and leaving it at your bedside at all times, so whenever a notification popped up of an open chatroom, you would always wake up to chat with whoever was online. Ever since you and Zen officially became a couple though, the young man had been helping you fix that messed up sleep schedule of yours.

"Damn, it's cold..." you mutter to yourself, rubbing your arms furiously to hopefully warm them up. You look towards the door and can hear Zen's muffled voice as he was making his call. You pry the covers off of the bed since the occupants were no longer there and wrap the warm cloth around your frame. Carefully, you open the door, not wanting to disturb Zen's phone call. Whatever it was, it must have been extremely important if he felt the need to call at 3AM. You make your way out of the room and head towards the kitchen where Zen is leaning over the sink.

"Thanks, Jumin. I owe you," you hear Zen say just before he ends the call.

"Zen?" you tentatively call out to him, and the actor visibly jumps, almost dropping his phone in the process. Immediately, he turns around and has an expression akin to that of a child who's been caught sneaking out of bed past curfew.

The actor tries to relax himself, but you can see that he's still tense. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go back to sleep," he chastises you, and he almost sounds angry.

You walk up towards him, wrapping your arms, as well as the bed cover that was still on you, around his larger frame. "I'm sorry," you apologized, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright since that nightmare of yours seemed to have really affected you."

"Sorry," Zen apologizes as well, prompting you to laugh as he returns your hug and rests his head against your shoulder. "Thank you for worrying about me."

You hummed, allowing your fingers to thread through his hair, "I always worry about you, and I want you to know that I will always be here for you."

The young man smiles in response as he pulls away from you, stroking your cheek with his thumb. "I love you," he reaffirms his feelings for you, and your heart soars. No matter how many times Zen says those three simple words to you, they still always manage to make you weak in the knees.

"I love you too," you manage to breathe out just before Zen locks your lips with his once more, except compared to the desperate one from before, this one is much more gentle and sweet. He's the one that breaks the kiss first and laughs at the small pout you didn't even realize you gave. He places one more quick kiss on your cheek before bringing his hand down to grasp yours and lead you back into the bedroom.

"Let's go to sleep," he suggests, and you nod, biting back the question you wanted to ask of what Zen was talking to Jumin about. If he didn't bring it up with you, then perhaps it wasn't for you to know. Still, you couldn't help but feel troubled that your boyfriend was possibly hiding something from you.

* * *

The next morning, Zen was back to his usual self, much to your relief. You were still concerned, especially after overhearing that last bit of his phone call last night, but you've already reassured Zen that he would always have your support no matter what, so there was really nothing else you can do. As he was getting ready for work, he paused and asked you, "So, what are your plans for the day?"

"Hm?" you ask him to repeat himself as you were too engrossed on joining in on Seven teasing Yoosung on the RFA app to properly catch what Zen was saying.

The young man smiled at your cute response, cheerful that you were enjoying yourself as he walked over to where you sat on the couch and knelt down so that he was eye-level with you. You finally placed your phone down to give him your full attention before Zen lightly tapped your nose, prompting you to momentarily scrunch your face in confusion. "You have a day off today, right? What are your plans for the day?"

You tilted your head to the side as you thought about your answer, "Well..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you plan to do on your day off?:  
>  ~~• Stay at home and relax~~  
>  ~~• Go out and walk around for a bit, maybe some window-shopping~~  
>  • _Visit any one of the available RFA members_ (chosen response)  
>  ~~• Ask if any of your other friends would be available to hang out with~~


	3. Discussion

"I was thinking about visiting the other RFA members if they were available," you answer Zen, and for a moment, he seems to be considering your words.

"Okay," Zen mutters to himself, but you still catch his words, "yeah, okay, that should be fine..."

You knit your eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean that should be fine?"

The actor freezes, not realizing that he spoke out his thoughts, loud enough for you to hear, and your heart ached when he guiltily looks away. He's hiding something, and you know it. You understand that even if you and Zen were already in a relationship, that didn't mean that both of you had to share each and every single detail about yourselves. Even you had some secrets that you kept from the young man, but whatever it was that Zen wasn't telling you looked like it was slowly eating away at him.

"It's nothing," Zen lies, and he grimaces slightly from how poor of an attempt it was. He hoped this wouldn't affect his acting career if he can't even make a convincing lie. "I'm just worried something might happen to you, so I don't want you to be alone for too long." It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't necessarily a lie either. Zen really _was_ afraid that that dream he had would come true.

Your lips marred themselves into a frown, and you tightly grasped the young man's hands, preventing him from moving away. Of course, Zen was physically stronger than you and could easily pull away if he wanted to, but the determined look in your eyes made him stay. The actor noted the way your hands trembled, even if the grip was firm. Zen could tell that he was scaring you with the way he was behaving, and he mentlly scolded himself. Scaring you was the last thing he wanted to do; it's why he refused to speak to you about his dream in the first place. ...That, and he was afraid that if he actually said those words out loud to you, then maybe it might come true in the end.

"Zen, please," you pleaded, unable to bear seeing the young man like this. "I know you're not telling me something. I don't want to pry if it's too personal for you to share, but whatever it is, I can tell that it's killing you inside. ...I don't want to lose you to whatever it is you're not telling me."

The young man smiles wryly from the irony of your words. _He_ was the one who didn't want to lose you. But even so, Zen understood that you were right. If he kept this up, then this relationship will go downhill and fast, and he might end up losing you in the end, even if it was a different kind of loss from his dream. Heaving a defeated sigh, he nodded, "Okay. I'll tell you, but later."

For a moment, your eyes lit up with relief when Zen said that he would finally voice his thoughts, but you then gave him a doubtful look when he added the "later" at the end. Seeing that, Zen explained, "It's a long story and something that we need time to discuss, and I'm already late for work."

At his words, you glanced at the clock and immediately let go of Zen's hands, "Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry—"

Zen chuckled, kissing you on the cheek and effectively cutting your sputtered apology short. He stood up, straightening himself. "I love you. Be safe, okay? If you'd like, you can ask the Trust Fund Kid to call for Driver Kim to drop you off wherever."

"I'll be fine," you smiled at the male. "The weather's really nice out today, so I'm thinking of just walking. Besides, all of the RFA members are relatively close by, so it's fine."

Zen paused and considered on urging you to have Driver Kim drive you to your desired destination, but he didn't want to be so controlling towards you. Sensing his hesitation, you stood up from your seat and gave Zen a reassuring hug. "I promise I'll be careful."

"Okay..." Zen relented, but he didn't sound too convinced. Nevertheless, after a few more farewells and reassurances, Zen was finally out the door, leaving you alone to get ready for the day. You opened up the RFA app again and found that nobody was online. Walking to the closet to plan out the outfit you were going to wear, you tried to think of who you could go and visit.

Jumin and Jaehee were most probably busy with work at C&R, but it might be nice and refreshing to just pop in for a quick visit. You were sure they wouldnn't mind. Of course, you made the decision to leave if they looked to be too busy.

You knew for certain that Yoosung didn't have any classes today. He was excited about it last night, talking about how he would spend the whole day playing LOLOL and grinding for the event that was currently taking place. Maybe you could join him in gaming.

Seven was a bit of hit-or-miss. He was secretive about his work, plus the layers of security he had at home was a bit troubling and difficult to get through. Maybe if you contacted him in advance, he might be able to let you in, and the two of you could look at cat videos and memes while he multitasked with his work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you choose to visit? (You may only choose one):  
>  ~~• 707~~  
>  ~~• Jumin~~  
>  ~~• Jaehee~~  
>  _• Yoosung_ (chosen response)
> 
> * * *
> 
> As an aside, I apologize if these chapters are short; the action and chapter lengths should start to pick up in a few chapters, but for now, I wanted to ease into how the function (choices you guys make) for this story works. I'd appreciate it if you can tell me what you think about this kind of reader-interactive story.


	4. Day Off

Yoosung let out a satisfied sigh as he stretched his arms over his head, leaning back in his chair so that he could stretch out his legs underneath his computer table as well. The young blond had already been awake since early morning, making sure to set up multiple alarms just to make sure he woke up in time to make good use of his time in LOLOL for the campaign event. Being free-to-play was a lot of hard work and required lots of determination, patience, and tenacity. Yoosung liked to believe that he posessed all those qualities; otherwise, how else could he have gotten this far in the game. He felt a certain sense of pride.

Just as the blond was about to bring his hands back on his keyboard and mouse, the screen of his phone that lay just beside him lit up. Curious, he picked it up, eyes lighting up as he read a text message that you had sent him: _"Hey! I have a day off today, and since I have nothing else to do while Zen's at work, I was wondering if I could come over and game together?"_

Yoosung excitedly sent you his response: _"Hiya! Yeah, that sounds fun! Come over!"_

As soon as you received permission from the male, you grinned. You figured it would be rude manners to just show up to the student's house uninvited, so you felt relieved when Yoosung said it was okay for you to visit him since you had already prepared yourself to head out. Heading to the shared bedroom, you picked up your bag and went to place your laptop, headset, and other necessary items inside it so that both you and Yoosung could enjoy gaming at the same time.

Nodding in satisfaction after making sure that you got everything and was fully prepared, you slung your bag over your shoulder, letting out a small grunt from the weight of the laptop. You shut the door behind you, locking it with your key before turning on your heel to start walking towards Yoosung's place. Ever since your first successful RFA party as a host, you had managed to become even closer to the other members, often visiting their houses that you could easily find your way to them with your eyes closed.

As you walked through the streets with a slight bounce in your steps, you couldn't help but appreciate the nice weather. It wasn't too cold nor was it too hot, a gentle breeze blowing every once in a while to carress your cheeks. It's been a while since the weather's been this nice; you almost felt like it would be such a waste to spend it inside just playing games, but you'd much prefer another person's company than to enjoy the weather alone.

"Oh," you let out a small exclamation when you saw a promational poster with a model you were _very_ familiar with. Giggling to yourself, you discreetly took a picture of it, opening up your contacts and going straight to Zen's information.

_"Heading to Yoosung's place and omg, just look at this handsome fellow I came across"_

You put your phone away and resumed your journey, but only after a few steps did your phone vibrate to life. Quickly, you took it out, expression softening at the actor's text: _"My phone wasn't loading the picture, so I got a bit anxious there. It's a bit embarrassing having you praise my photo, haha. Stay safe and have fun at Yoosung's, alright? But not too much fun or else I'll get jealous. Love you, mwah♥"_

_"I will, thanks! No need to get jealous, haha. Good luck with work. Love you too! ♡♡♡"_

It was honestly a bit flustering for you to send texts like that, but Zen seemed to enjoy it, so you decided to spoil him with them every once in a while. Putting your phone again, you continued heading over to Yoosung's place.

Your walk to Yoosung's was more or less pretty uneventful. You saw a few outfits and items in a couple of stores that caught your interest, and you also managed to come across a really cute dog along the way. But something felt...off. It almost felt as if somebody was watching you, but whenever you looked around your surroundings, you saw nobody suspicious. It was a nagging feeling, almost as though somebody's eyes were on you. It was nerve-wrecking, but since there was nothing that stood out to you, you tried to brush the feeling away, thinking you were just being paranoid since you've just recently come across a few scary video game and movie trailers. You're safe...right?

* * *

"[Name]! Nice to see you!" Yoosung exclaimed, giving you an enthusiastic hug when he answered the door.

"Oof—! Hello Yoosung," you greeted the blond, giving a light laugh as you steadied yourself.

The young man pulled away, scratching the back of his head as he muttered out a small and embarrassed apology. He then gestured for you to come inside, shutting the door behind you as you started heading to his room. You smiled to yourself when you saw that his game was already on. From the corner of your eyes, you could see a few papers of what looked like to be homework scattered about in another corner of the room. You were about to comment on it but decided against it; you didn't want to start of your time together with a lecture.

"It's been a while since you've last logged into LOLOL," Yoosung comments as he goes to take a seat in front of his computer while you gently place your bag down and take out your laptop, powering it on. "You've missed some really cool events and campaigns, plus the guild really misses you!"

You laugh, opening up LOLOL and waited for the game to load on the screen, "Yeah, sorry about that. Zen's been busy with work, as have I, so I haven't been able to find much time to log in."

Yoosung hums in understanding, and you finish setting up, putting on your headset while Yoosung's put his own respective headset on himself. The minute you log in, you're greeted by the enthusiastic members of Yoosung's guild. At some point in the past, you had wanted to try LOLOL, and Yoosung was more than happy to help teach your way through. He invited you to your guild, and everybody was extremely welcoming and friendly. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, you all started going through several quests.

_"I need healing!"_

As one of the main healers in this unique group of players, you groaned and rolled your eyes, "I am _not_ wasting my MP or potions for that, Apollo. You're _fine_ —oh _shit_ , Pluto! Fall back, fall back, fall back! _Fall back so I could heal you_ —!!"

After a few more hours of both you and Yoosung yelling into your headsets with the occassional bursts of laughter, you had grown tired and excused yourself from the game. The blond student followed soon afterwards, wanting to be a good host to his guest. Slowly, you stood up and stretched. It was a bad idea to stay sitting in your previous position for a long time, and you made a mental note to _never_ do it again. Gingerly, you rubbed your throat, sore from all the shouting. Hopefully Yoosung's neighbours wouldn't mind.

"Hey, Yoosung? Can I have a glass of water?" you asked.

"Sure thing, let me get it," Yoosung stood up from his seat as well.

You waved your hands in front of you in a dismissive manner, "Oh, I can get it myself—"

That's what you said, but Yoosung was already heading towards the kitchen. Just then, you felt your phone vibrate from a new text message. It was from Zen. He sent you one of his selfies, a stupid grin on his face, holding one of his hands in the shape of half a heart and positioned it so that it was on the edge of the photo. Along with the photo was a text telling you to "complete the heart" and asking how you were doing with Yoosung. Feeling slightly embarrassed, you sent a selfie with your half of the heart and telling him that you were well and having fun. Just then, Yoosung returned to the room with the glass of water you asked for. You placed your phone down on Yoosung's computer table so that you could free your hands to take the glass.

"Is that Zen?" he asked, amusement laced in his tone.

"Yeah, thanks," you nodded as you thanked him for the water, taking a generous gulp.

Yoosung laughed, "I knew it. You only have that face when it comes to Zen."

"Do I?"

"You do!"

You let out a thoughtful hum, tilting your head to the side. "Huh, I guess I do... Speaking of Zen...I'm a bit worried, actually."

"Why?" It was Yoosung's turn this time to tilt his head to the side, curious.

You breathed out a sigh, thinking it should be fine to voice out your thoughts towards the male, "He's not telling me something. He had a bad dream last night, and I can tell it's affecting him, but he won't let me in. Well, I mean, he _did_ say he'll tell me later tonight when he comes home from work, but I'm a bit scared. What if it's something I can't help with?"

"Hmmm," the student hummed to himself, crossing his arms over his chest, deep in thought. "Well, even if it's not something you can help with, I think it should be fine as long as you can give him your support and care."

You considered Yoosung's words and smiled at his advice, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks." The young man grinned, feeling a certain sense of pride. You then looked at the time and realized just how late it's gotten. "Oh, I should start heading home now." Time really flew by while having fun. You started cleaning up after yourself, putting your laptop and headset back into your bag. Once you were all set, you started heading towards the door, the student following right behind you. "Thanks for having me over, Yoosung."

"You should come over again soon!" Yoosung beamed, and you laughed.

"Maybe!"

After a few more words of farewell, you finally started on your way back home. The streets weren't as bustling as they were in the morning, but there were still a few people walking around, their forms illuminated by the setting sun. Your mind wandered back to the events of the day. Even if you didn't really do much, you still thoroughly enjoyed yourself. While walking, you remembered that nervous feeling you got in the morning as though somebody was watching you. Thankfully, that feeling did not return.

However, the apprehension you felt from that reminded you that you haven't texted Zen yet. You figured you should probably text him, telling him you were heading back home just to give him a sense of security of knowing where you were. Your hand went to fish through your pocket where you usually kept your phone, and you frowned when all you grasped was air. You checked your other pockets; your phone was nowhere to be found. You tried to remember the last place you put your phone, and you mentally slapped yourself. You had left your phone back at Yoosung's house.

Groaning to yourself, you debated as to whether or not you should go back to Yoosung's place to get your phone. You were already halfway home, plus it was already getting late. You had no other way of contacting Zen, and you weren't sure if he was done with his work yet. Heaving a sigh and muttering a small curse under your breath, you started walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you go back to retrieve your phone from Yoosung's place?  
> • Yes  
> • No


	5. Attack

You bounced on the balls of your feet, waiting for Yoosung to answer his door for you. As you waited, you couldn't help but heave a tired sigh, feeling both slightly disappointed and embarrassed in yourself to have forgotten your phone of all things. If it had been something else, you probably could have gone back another time to retrieve it, but your phone was way too important to you. Not to mention that Zen might have wanted to contact you, and you really didn't want him to worry.

"Oh, hey!" Yoosung finally opened the door, confusion on his face. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

"I did, actually," you nodded. "My phone."

Yoosung hummed in understanding as he let you back inside, and you walked over to his computer table where you had last put your phone. You noted how he wasn't playing LOLOL and his papers were out; you felt a bit proud to see him doing his work and giving his efforts instead of just mindlessly playing all day, and you smiled softly. You would have commented on it, but you didn't want to sound like you were judging him, so you chose to remain quiet, cheering him on in your mind. Once you had your phone back in your possession, the first thing you did was check if you missed any messages. You let out a quiet sigh of relief when there was nothing.

"Thanks," you offered Yoosung a quick word of gratitude before leaving once more, eager to just get home already. Once you were back to walking on the streets, you paused in your steps beside a post to send Zen a quick text: _"Heading home now. I'll see you there."_

You didn't even get a chance to put your phone back into your pocket before Zen sent a reply: _"Mkay! I'm still finishing up here. Stay safe! ♥"_

You couldn't help but giggle softly to yourself when you opened the picture that came along with the actor's text. It was a selfie of him blowing a kiss to the camera. You took a moment to admire the photo just a _bit_ longer before finally putting your phone away. While you did find amusement in Zen's affectionate selfies while he was at work, a part of you couldn't help but wonder how it must look to his co-workers. Ridiculous, no doubt.

As you hummed a random melody, lost in your thoughts of what you should cook for dinner, you felt that something was _off_. Again, it felt as though there were eyes that were following you. Then, as naturally as you possibly can, you took out your phone, opening the screen and pretended to be looking at something. You pretended to looked annoyed, clicking your tongue as you turned on your heel and started walking back from where you came from, acting as though you just realized you were going the wrong way.

The feeling was still there, and you paused. You were starting to get scared, and that was when you realized it. There was nobody else in the streets. Sure, it might have been late, but you figured that there would still be _some_ people out. Like teenagers hanging out or business people going home after a long day's work, but there was no one. You were _not_ going to stay outside any longer than necessary. You spun on your heel, giving a small grunt from the momentum of your bag which was carrying your heavy laptop, and you quickly started to walk back home.

Step. Step. Step. 

You paused for a moment to readjust your bag onto your shoulder.

_Step_.

Immediately, your eyes widened. You heard an extra step, and you instinctively shuffled over to the side to give the person behind you space to move past you.

_Silence_.

Maybe you just misheard. You tried to rationalize with yourself, and you hesitatingly turned your head around. You don't really know what you were expecting, but being greeted by _nothing_ was not one of them. You didn't know if you felt relieved or not and resumed walking, but at a much brisker pace.

Step. Step. _Step_. Step. _Step_. _Step_.

Now, you were _certain_ there were footsteps behind you. Not caring to look behind you and instead only focusing on getting to safety—or at least, _feeling_ safe just in case it was paranoia—you broke out into a run. The footsteps followed you, and you panicked. Thankfully, despite the panic you were still able to think properly, and your hand flew to your pocket, dialing a number while still inside before taking the phone out and placing it against your ear.

"Defender of Justice, 707 at your service! How can I—"

You interrupted the hacker's enthusiastic greeting with your voice full of pure adrenaline. "Help—! _Ahh_!!"

You yelped when you felt a hand grab hold of your wrist, harshly pulling you back. You desperately struggled against the unknown assailant, thrashing and kicking before other pairs of arms joined in trying to subdue you. Fear started to rise in your chest as you realized that this was a planned attack. There was no way it couldn't be. It was far too calculated to be otherwise. You fought viciously, screaming and crying for help before you felt something hard hit against the back of your head, stunning you. Just as you were fading into unconsciousness, the very last thought you had was of Zen and that one time he had saved you from the hacker at Rika's apartment when the two of your first met.

_He wasn't there to save you now_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are no choices to make as you are currently unconscious.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Aaand, it kicks off. Sorry for the short chapter, and I also kind of want to apologize in advance if following updates become slow/sporadic from here on out. This is my first time writing action/drama and the like, so I'm a bit apprehensive, ahah.


End file.
